In a surprise move for 2025, Bonnaroo is not including a bandana or gift in its wristband shipments — and fans have strong opinions. Barry and Lord Taco reunite with Bryan Stone to unpack the "gift-gate" controversy, why the missing bandana matters to so many, and what it says about the evolution of the festival. It’s a deep dive into Bonnaroo tradition, fan culture, and how communication from organizers plays a role in festival loyalty.

Bryan also catches us up on what he’s been doing these past few weeks, and the crew runs through the latest Bonnaroo 2025 news as we hit the 30-day countdown to the Farm. Also, be sure and join The What Podcast for a special meetup live episode on The How Stage inside Planet Roo at 4:00 PM on Thursday during Bonnaroo!

Listen to this episode of The What Podcast here, or watch it on YouTube. We'd love to hear your thoughts as well, leave a comment on YouTube or Spotify! Be sure and like and subscribe to The What Podcast wherever you get podcasts.

______

CHAPTERS

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:04:04) Platinum and VIP viewing areas

(00:05:44) Wiffle ball and coffee exchange

(00:10:40) Fountain updates

(00:13:03) Bandanas

(00:50:10) Catching up with Bryan

(01:00:56) Live podcast in Centeroo on Thursday

(01:05:50) Outro

______
🎧 LISTEN LINKS
Website: https://thewhatpodcast.com
Spotify: https://thewhat.co/spotify
Apple Podcasts: https://thewhat.co/applepodcasts
YouTube Music: https://thewhat.co/youtubemusic
Amazon Music: https://thewhat.co/amazonmusic

📱 SOCIAL LINKS
Discord: https://discord.gg/zShHTeCYGn
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thewhatpodcast
X: https://x.com/thewhat_podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhatpodcast/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewhatpodcast/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewhatpodcast
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thewhat.co
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@thewhatpodcast
Email: comments@thewhatpodcast.com

The What Podcast theme: "Aquarius" by *repeat repeat